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Morning of the Magician (Unpublished)
Solicitation Swamp Thing journeys back to the beginnings of mankind and the biggest surprise awaits! History Despite having planned the story out in advance, and having had it approved by his editors, Rick Veitch's epic story about Swamp Thing journeying backwards through time was a source of concern for DC Editorial, because one of its final issues ended with Swamp Thing meeting Jesus Christ himself. (Veitch's run was expected to end with #92, to be followed by Jamie Delano). Most of the issue's artwork had already been drawn by Michael Zulli, in what was his first work for DC, and the story was to include both Etrigan and the more obscure Golden Gladiator - following the story arc's trend of highlighting a relatively forgotten era-specific character with each issue's time-period setting. The character of Christ was simply called "Nazarene", referring to his birthplace of Nazareth. The story would have revealed how the three wise men were actually assassins and that the Nazarene was a hedge wizard. Both editors Karen Berger and Dick Giordano read and tentatively OK'd the script, with the knowledge impressed upon Veitch that changes to the script might be necessary. However, upon her review of the script and artwork, DC President and Editor-in-Chief Jenette Kahn deemed the story too great a risk for publication. Given decreasing sales of comic books and major projects on the horizon for the company, a boycott or protest could hurt the company, and Kahn ordered that the story go unpublished. Though Veitch reportedly made efforts to change the script and argue the opposing side, editorial was determined, and he and Zulli resigned from the title. Karen Berger approached both Jamie Delano and Neil Gaiman to take the writer's position, but both declined out of respect for Veitch. Eventually, Doug Wheeler was selected as replacement, and continued the time-travel story in a two-month-delayed ''Swamp Thing'' Vol. 2, #88, but took the story in a different direction that laid roots for his own contributions to the Swamp Thing mythology. Berger included messages in the letters columns of both issues #88 and #89, explaining the situation to readers, and giving a general explanation of the plot that might have been. While Rick Veitch attempted to get his story published with a rewritten script in when he finally returned to the company in 2004, DC declined to publish it. Notes * Much of the original script and artwork for this planned issue can be found here! * While this book was solicited to be published in May of 1989, it never saw release. Credits, solicitation text, and artwork are provided for informational purposes. The creators credited may never have completed work on the issue, and the story indicated by the solicitation should not be considered canon. Trivia *Coming Soon See Also *Coming Soon External links * Morning of the Magician (Unpublished) on DC Wiki * The Odd and True Tale of Swamp Thing #88 on Pop Culture Uncovered * Morning of the Magician (Unpublished) on Another Green World * 'Morning Of The Magician': Swamp Thing meets Jesus Christ - The Lost Swamp Thing on 20th Century Danny Boy